Barbados Travellers Guide

Facts & Figures

Total Area:431 sq km                           Land Borders: islands
Population: 279,912                               
Life Expectancy: 73 years                       HIV % Total Poulation:1.5%
Ethnic Groups: black 90%, white 4%, Asian and mixed 6%
Languages:English
Prime Minister:Owen Seymour ARTHUR               GDP - Per Capita: $17,000

History

The island was uninhabited when first settled by the British in 1627. Slaves worked the sugar plantations established on the island until 1834 when slavery was abolished. The economy remained heavily dependent on sugar, rum, and molasses production through most of the 20th century. The gradual introduction of social and political reforms in the 1940s and 1950s led to complete independence from the UK in 1966. In the 1990s, tourism and manufacturing surpassed the sugar industry in economic importance